How long will my fish live under these circumstances?

[Brieninsac]

For a couple of weeks my 5-year old Red Sea Reefer 350 started to leak under the return pipe where it connects to the overflow bulkhead. On Monday, I tried to snug it up a little and the plastic flange nut cracked. Fortunately, I was able to empty the overflow box to prevent a major mess.

On Tuesday, I ordered a replacement nut which will be here tomorrow. Right now the fish are in the display tank with an air stone, heater and the wave pumps running. I did a 50% water change yesterday. Will the fish be ok for another 24-hours without the system running? I also turned the lights off and I'm only feeding them 1x at night.

 

[Sk8r]

Your water change and air stone will help. They should be fine. Watch their temperature.

 

[sde1500]

Many tanks run without sumps full time. With powerheads and a heater in the tank it could run forever without the sump connected.

 

[Anemone]

Many tanks run without sumps full time. With powerheads and a heater in the tank it could run forever without the sump connected.

This.

If you have live rock, most of the biological filtration occurs in the display tank, not your sump. As long as you have a heater and sufficient water movement, your fish will be fine.

Kevin

 

[cody6766]

Keep the temp where it should be and the flow running. You'll be fine for the short term with no adjustments, and even sustainable in the log term if you had to make it work. Maybe up your water change schedule a bit to make up for what's not being cleaned out in the sump, but your extra effort required should be minimal.

 

[Brieninsac]

Thanks all, got the tank up and running again today. Fish all did fine.